Small time drug dealer David (Sudeikis) graduates to drug
smuggler when his stash and all his money are stolen one
day. The unsavory person he owes a bunch of money to gives
him the choice of death or going to Mexico and bringing back
a big score. To do so he rounds up a group of misfits
consisting of an ex-stripper (Aniston), awkward virgin, and
rebellious street kid to create a make believe family he
thinks will ensure an easy border crossing. Director Thurber
also helmed Dodgeball which is one of my favourite
comedic films. While this doesn't quite achieve the same
level it's still overall an entertaining romp. Although the
storyline is somewhat safe and predictable, the overriding
warm and fuzzy theme is a nice break from the never-ending
raunch of recent films. This is probably the first film
since Office Space that I didn't find Aniston
annoying and fans of hers will appreciate her really getting
into the role of a stripper. I suspect that the scene
involving some kissing lessons didn't make it on the
theatrical cut. Which is a shame as it was easily the
funniest part of the movie. The end credits also provide
their fair share of hilarity.

Gerry Lane (Pitt) has left his life working at the UN behind
him in order to spend time with his family and stop working
on other people’s problems. Life is good until one day they
get stuck in downtown Philadelphia and it soon becomes
apparent that they need to get out of the city - and fast.
This film had a troubled history with rewrites and reshoots.
When I saw the trailer my first reaction was that it looked
like a CGI'd mess and I decided it was going to be a
disaster and didn't want to see it. Fast forward to today
and in a 'why not' moment I grabbed it on Blu-Ray. I have to
say I was pleasantly surprised. More 28 Days Later
than The Walking Dead the zombies in this one are
fast, as in really fast. No time for Romero type social
commentary as everyone is too busy simply trying to survive.
For most of the film I was literally on the edge of my seat.
There's some amazing set pieces in here. About the only
downside was that I wish the wife had a bigger role as I
simply adore the actress (Enos) who plays her. I also
thought the movie ended on a somewhat neat and tidy note.
But overall an enjoyable thrill ride.

Martyrs (Blu-Ray)
- Sep 28, 2013

Director:
Pascal Laugier

Main Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mylene Jampanoi, Catherine Begin

Rating: 5 out 5

Tormented by the most sadistic forms of torture and abuse in
a house of horrors, little Lucie manages to escape her
captors and ends up in an orphanage where she befriends
Anna, herself a victim of abuse. Unfortunately the suffering
doesn't end as she finds herself haunted by a ghoul who
routinely attacks her. Wow. Just wow. My fellow Canucks from
La Belle Province are one messed up lot. Seriously, I think
the makers should be put on some kind of watch list. This
was brutal. It starts off as a somewhat typical horror flick
and then does a 180 and descends into a relentless spectacle
of abuse and victimization. Easily the most disturbing movie
I've ever seen. I literally had tears running down my cheeks
the last half of the movie, yet was absolutely transfixed to
the screen. Brutal. And yet I'm glad I stuck with it to the
end as ultimately it managed to transform itself way above
'torture porn' the likes of Hostel or Saw and
into a truly great film. I don't know what else to say. This
will stick with me a long, long time. Highly recommended but
extremely hard to watch and emotionally draining.

Before
Sunrise (Laserdisc)
- Aug 16, 2013

Director:
Richard Linklater

Main Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Rating: 4 out 5

American tourist Jesse (Hawke) fresh off the
sting of travelling to Madrid to meet his girlfriend, only
to then be dumped, has spent the days since aimlessly
travelling around in trains. A chance meeting with a
beautiful woman (Delpy) leads to enjoyable conversation and
a real connection. Unwilling to let the moment go, they
decide to make the most of his last day in Europe. Honestly,
if all 'chick flicks' were like this one I wouldn't have to
be dragged to them. Yes, the story centers around two people
falling in love, but it doesn't descend to the clichéd 'boy
meets girl, boy loses girl' formulaic crap that dominates
these films. It's a credit to the real chemistry between the
two stars that they keep you glued to the screen in a movie
consisting of nothing but dialog and gorgeous scenery. Of
course it helps that I've been in love with Delpy ever since
I saw her in
Killing Zoe.
I could listen to her talk in her cute French accent
forever. I can't wait to see the remaining two films in the
trilogy and see where this relationship goes.

Otto (Estevez) is a young punk desperate to
find some money. Upon finding that his parents gave away his
college money to a local televangelist he reluctantly joins
up with a bunch of misfits and becomes a Repo Man. His life
takes a turn for the bizarre when a mysterious Chevy Malibu
shows up on the wanted list and he must fight off a rival
repo group, government agents, and his delinquent friends to
get his hands on it and the strange cargo in its trunk.
Films tend to end up with the Cult label because either the
movie was ahead of its time and the mainstream viewers just
didn't 'get it' or because the movie simply appealed to a
niche group who vigorously endorsed it. Repo Man falls into
the later camp as a homage to the punk, anti-authority
culture. But aside from a decent soundtrack (Black Flag,
Circle Jerks), I don't see how it's reputation is justified.
Overall it's an odd, although moderately entertaining, mash
up of ideas. Harry Dean Stanton is awesome as usual and
helps elevate the movie. A disappointing first time effort
from the director that brought us Sid & Nancy. Being a
Criterion release, I simply expected more.

Man Bites
Dog (DVD) (Criterion)
- May 20, 2013

Director:
Remy Belvaux

Main Stars: Benoit Poelvoorde, Jacqueline Poelvoorde, Nelly
Pappaert

Rating: 4 out 5

Ben is a likeable man with a loving family who has an
opinion on everything and anything. He also happens to be a
serial killer who is being followed around by a film crew
that is documenting his life. I don't know what it is about
the French film industry, but they've produced some terrific
movies over the years that I've enjoyed greatly-
Irreversible, Delicatessen, and now this one.
Shot in Black & White on a handheld camera, it evokes the
documentary style and feel that has been copied so many
times in more recent films. The film would be brutally
shocking if it wasn't for the overlying absurdity of it all
(in one hilarious scene the killer and his documentary crew
run into another serial killer with his own crew in tow). It
also wouldn't work if the actor who plays Ben wasn't so
charismatic and engaging. He's so damn likeable even when
he's committing the most horrible of acts. I also love how
the documentary crew goes from being passive observers to
reluctant participants. Man Bites Dog has become a cult
classic over the years and I can see why. It's a gem of
indie film making.

Every super hero known to the Marvel Universe gets together
to open up a can of whoop-ass. That pretty much sums it up.
I generally hate the never ending string of movies based on
comic book characters. I did like Iron Man, mostly because
of Robert Downey and I thought the first Spiderman was
genuinely refreshing - but I haven't even bothered to see
the third Batman. The story in this one, such as it is,
involves Thor's buddy Loki coming to earth to generate a
portal and let in an invasion of aliens to conquer the
world. For me I had issues getting past the absurdity of the
characters. On one hand you have the Hulk (Ruffalo) who is
invincible and on the other hand you have Black Widow
(Johansson) who while yummy in her tight leather getup,
basically just fires pistols. The bad guy is genuinely
riveting in some scenes with some pretty decent dialog, but
then looks ridiculous in other scenes strutting about, less
than imposing, and wearing a stupid helmet. Robert Downey
owns the camera, but they did do a fairly good job at not
making him the focus. I thought Mark Ruffalo was one of the
few that actually acted in the film, but no one cares about
that. They want to see lots of stuff blowing up and this CGI
fest delivers. In fact, New York gets basically destroyed
(yet somehow without a single citizen getting hurt). Fanboyz
will eat it up, but I'd rather have the 143 minutes of my
life spent watching this back.

Things are looking up for Sandy Patterson (Bateman).
Recently promoted to VP of a startup firm he looks forward
to giving his loving wife and daughters the comfortable life
they deserve. However things come crashing down around him
when he's wanted for fraud in Florida - just one thing, he's
never been to Florida. Occasionally I'll see a movie that
I'm not overly looking forward to, but go mostly to appease
the wife. And sometimes I'll actually end up liking the
movie. Such is the case here. When taken as a whole, the
film isn't overly special and drags a bit as it comes to
it's predictable and contrived end. But for most of it I was
highly entertained and laughed out loud several times.
Essentially a road movie, the strength of the film comes
from the dynamic between the two main characters. McCarthy
is hilarious and physical comedy is obviously her strength.
Bateman is equally effective as the prerequisite straight
man. There's also a hilarious bit with the guy who plays
Cameron on Modern Family. Some of the characters seem
extraneous and just thrown in to add a touch of drama
although it was nice seeing Robert Patrick as a grizzled
bounty hunter. A somewhat typical comedy that elevates
itself just a bit above average due to the efforts of the
lead actors.

Life hasn't been kind to Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe). Having
lost his wife he is grief stricken and barely managing to
hang on to his job at a London law office. He loves his only
son dearly but is forced to leave him behind when he is
assigned to wrap up the affairs of a recently deceased widow
at a faraway country mansion. Upon arriving at the local
village he is shunned as an outsider who is apt to bring
tragedy to them all. For some reason there's a plethora of
horror movies being released out of season so I decided to
join the fun and take one in. In a world full of gory
slasher flicks a Victorian ghost story seems almost trite.
But I thought it was a welcome break from the norm. Of
course the big question on everyone's minds when this was
released was whether Radcliffe could shed his association
with Harry Potter. I thought he did a great job and didn't
once think of him in that role. As for the story I thought
it was decent although upon reflection nothing
extraordinary. There were a couple times however that I
actually got chills down my back - which with the exception
of two other films never happens. So in that respect as a
horror flick it succeeded. I just wish they had fleshed out
the story more.

"Time travel has not yet been invented. But thirty years
from now, it will have been." And thus begins Looper, a rare
sci-fi gem that offers a fresh look at the time travel genre
which has been done so many times before it. While it stars
Willis, Gordon-Levitt who plays Willis in the past is the
real star. I actually didn't recognize him at first and it
was bugging me trying to figure out who he was. He gets
Bruce's mannerisms and icy stare down pat. The story is a
bit confusing at first but by the time you get a handle on
it you're sucked into the movie. There are so many small
details in this that show how much thought went into the
script and story. And while the film takes place in the
future it's a gritty near-future - no spaceships or laser
guns to be found here. Without giving anything away, there's
also a supernatural element which adds an interesting
dimension to things. Think Inception meets Carrie.
This is easily Willis' best role since 12 Monkeys
which is ironic as that was another excellent time travel
movie. I went into this not knowing much about it other than
hearing good buzz when it was screened at the Toronto Film
Festival. It was a pleasant surprise and I would rank it up
there with my favourite sci-fi films. Highly recommended.

When I first heard they were going to turn The Lord Of The
Rings into a set of movies I rolled my eyes. These books
along with The Hobbit were highly cherished by me growing
up. There was no way a movie would even compare. But when
they came out Jackson won me over and I loved them. So when
I heard he was doing the same to The Hobbit I had a similar
reaction. This time unfortunately, he lost his way. I saw
the film in regular 2D as I didn't want the raging debate
over the technology used in the 3D version to be a
distraction. I also went in not having watched any trailers,
or read anything about it as I didn't want to be biased in
any way. First the good - I thought Martin Freeman was
excellent as Bilbo. I also found the 'Riddle In the Dark'
scene where Bilbo first meets Gollum and discovers the ring
to be top notch. Easily the best part of the movie. Now the
bad - I knew going in that this was going to be the first
part of a trilogy. With the other two movies essentially
being 'made up' by Jackson based on literally a few appendix
notes Tolkien had made. So there were obvious parts that
weren't in the book but thrown in to tie into the upcoming
films. While I get it, I found it to be annoying. I was also
worried about the tone of the movie. The Hobbit is after all
a children's book. While there was some attempt to lighten
the mood which succeeded in parts it also resulted in things
constantly flipping back and forth from comedic to serious.
It didn't work for me. Worse, the special effects reflected
that disparity. In one scene we have the one Goblin bad guy
looking all evil and menacing, and then in the next scene we
have the other Goblin bad guy looking like something out of
Labyrinth being puppeted by Jim Henson. It was a
bizarre clash of styles. Then when the credits rolled I was
extremely pissed off I just spent three hours watching only
to get part way through what in reality is a short novel.
They easily could have started things where it ended and
covered everything else in a short pre-amble. Highly
disappointing.